1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the attachment of one or more electrically operated devices to a display panel, more particularly, to a connector attaching one of such devices to provide electrical power to the device in a manner allowing for adjustment of the orientation of the device on the panel, and additionally to apparatus for displaying electrically illuminated jewelry.
2. Summary of the Background Art
The patent literature includes a number of descriptions of jewelry items including LEDs (light emitting diodes) illuminated by one or more miniature batteries held within the jewelry items or attached thereto. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,630 describes a decorative article for wearing on clothing, having LEDs that alternately flash on and off. U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,976 describes an assembly including a battery and a pair of connectors that causes an LED mounted on a piece of jewelry to emit a flashing light when a pair of pins extending from the jewelry is pressed into the connectors. U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,261 describes a charm carrying a battery operated light that may be turned on and off. U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,784 describes an intermittently illuminated article of apparel that includes a light source and a flasher connected to the light source. U.S. Pat. No. 6,533,435 describes a small portable light including a battery and a flexible wire that can be twisted around a terminal to energize an LED.
FIG. 1 is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view of a currently available electrically operated jewelry item 10, which is understood to be a device to be worn for display or ornamental purposes. The jewelry item 10 includes a placard 12, which is visible outwardly when the jewelry item 10 is worn, and a battery housing 14, which extends in the rearward direction of arrow 16 from the placard 12. The placard 12 includes a number of LEDs 18, each visible through a window 20 in a front surface 22, that are flashed on and off by a circuit (not shown) within the placard 12 electrically connected to a pair of batteries 24, such as CR927 round batteries, within the battery housing 14. The batteries 24 are held within the battery housing 14 by means of a battery cap 26. The jewelry item 10 further includes an internal magnet 28 and an external magnet 30, which together hold the jewelry item 10 in place when it is worn with a clothing layer, such as a shirt pocket or collar disposed between the rear surface 32 of the battery cap 26 and the external magnet 30.
The battery cap 26 is removably attached to the battery housing 14 by means of external threads 34 of the battery cap 26 engaging a threaded mounting surface 36 of the battery housing 14. Electrical power to the circuit within the placard 12 is provided from an outer surface 38 of the batteries 24 through the conductive inner magnet 28, through the conductive battery cap 26 and through the conductive battery housing 14, with an inner surface 40 of the batteries 24 being held against a central contact surface 42 of the placard 12. The central contact surface 42 is disposed coaxially with the threaded mounting surface 36 of the battery housing 14. When the inner surface 40 of the batteries 24 is held away from the central contact surface 42, as it is in the example of FIG. 1, electrical current does not flow from the batteries 24 into the circuit within the placard 12 to illuminate the LEDs 18, which are then turned on by turning the battery cap 26 as a knob to bring the inner surface 40 into contact with the central contact surface 42. A nonconductive resilient ring 44 may be additionally installed between the batteries 24 and the placard 12 to hold the inner surface 40 out of contact with the central contact surface 42 when the battery cap 26 has not been screwed inward to turn the LEDs 18 on.
While the jewelry item 10 is being worn on a user's clothing, the batteries 24 provide sufficient power to illuminate low-power devices, such as the LEDs 18. However, it is additionally desirable to provide a display unit in which one or more of the jewelry items 10 may be displayed for sale, with the LEDs 18 being illuminated with power from an external source, so that the LEDs can remain on and flashing for extended periods within a store displaying the jewelry items 10 for sale.
Connectors have been devised and used for attaching and powering devices having internally threaded housings and contact surfaces coaxial with the internal housing threads. For example, European Patent Application 0588279A3 describes a cylindrical battery having a retaining and mounting device in the form of an externally threaded cylinder with a contact terminal disposed at an external end of the externally threaded cylinder. However, when a display panel including a number of connectors of this kind is used for the attachment of the jewelry item 10, it becomes apparent that, when the jewelry item 10 is rotated into a position on the connector in which power is provided through the connector to the jewelry item 10, the placard 12 is disposed at a random angle that cannot be adequately adjusted without turning off electrical power to the jewelry item 10. In general, the placard 12 includes indicia, in the form of printed markings, an external shape, and/or the placement of the LEDs 18, providing a preferred orientation of the jewelry item 10 on a display unit. Therefore, what is needed is a connector for mounting an electrically powered device having a threaded mounting surface, such as the jewelry item 10, in a preferred orientation, with power being supplied to the electrically powered device through the connector.